5 NFL Grinches For The 2012 Holiday Season: TheStreet

PORTLAND, Ore. (TheStreet) -- Number of weeks gone by in the NFL season? Thirteen. Number of home game blackouts? Twelve. Happy holidays, fans.

The National Football League was supposed to be entering a game-changing season for its television blackout policy, which dates back to an act of Congress in 1961. The act prevents home games from showing on TV stations that broadcast within a 75-mile radius of the stadium if tickets aren't sold out 72 hours before kickoff. This summer, after the Federal Communications Commission agreed to review the policy, the NFL took its first step away from those restrictions. Under new rules, teams would be allowed to broadcast games within their local coverage area even if only 85% of tickets are sold.

Unfortunately, it was up to the teams' owners to decide if they want to adopt that 85% threshold.